Pirates football team gives a helping hand

Chris Bowie

Monday

Jun 3, 2019 at 11:06 AM

It all started with a phone call at around 10 p.m. last week for Boonville Pirates football coach Greg Hough.With parts of Howard County unindated by flooding during recent days, Hough said he found out they were looking for help sandbagging near Rocheport.Of course once Hough got the call, he messaged juniors and seniors to see who could help. “A lot had work and other things going on but I managed to get 12 players, coaches, my wife and two boys, Mrs. Angie Rogers (teacher at Boonville), her daughter and our niece who are athletes at Fayette.”Hough said the group met at 7:45 a.m. and worked until 1 p.m.“It was manual labor, no fancy machines,” Hough said. “There were big piles of sand and chat and we used shovels to fill the bats. It was a unique assembly line with unique equipment. They took cones and cut them to be like funnels and they hung from ladder rungs. Basically on a ladder you had four stations. You had a scooper, pourer, someone holding the bag under the cones, someone zip tying the bags, someone carrying to the truck and someone stacking them on the wall.”With parts of Howard County now closed off due to levees breaking, Hough said it was a good opportunity to work in an area that his group could be around each other. He said there were a lot of positives in what they did. “We provided a service to someone in need,” Hough said. “We got kids out of bed being active who didn’t have plans for the day, and we as coaches spent time with our athletes off the field and worked side by side with them. I would do it again in a heartbeat. If someone needs help and we are available we will help. The kids that showed up today did fantastic. This was an off day for many of us and then the student athletes had summer school, work and honestly could have stayed home, but they didn’t. I know for a fact that they were tired and sore from the previous day workout and activities.”Hough said he recalls the Flood of ‘93 in Lexington and dealt with that while in Carrollton so this has been a part of things as a coach and young boy himself. “Personally to be there with my family and friends working towards a good cause was enjoyable,” Hough said. “There was no clock, there was no distractions just some sweat, sand, laughs and a lot of water. Also, my boys at 10 and 6 years old seeing them do jobs and being helpful was great as a parent. This is something they will always remember, much like my memories when I was 10 years old in 1993.”Hough said his brother in law, who works at Boone Electric, was part of sending over 30 guys to help. “I think we had just the right amount helping out,” Hough said. “It got pretty hot down there and they didn’t complain once, they just kept going.”

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